Packmate
by Aria Illusine
Summary: Pakkun finally gets tired of Kakashi doing nothing about his attraction to Sakura, and takes matters into his own hands...er...paws. With the rest of Kakashi's summons pack to help! KakaSaku Complete


A/N: I really loved writing this fic, and I hope you enjoy reading this. P.S. I think my beta deserves some major props b/c I wrote this Monday evening, finishing up Tuesday, sent it to her Tuesday night...and she got this beta'd and back to me in less than 24 hours. Thank you Gin!! Anyway, nothing more to say, hurry up and read, read, READ!!

Disclaimer: All characters belong to Kishimoto, and not to me. Sadly. Much credit goes to Narutopedia for names and appearances of the pack, though I made up most of the personalities myself ^^

Sorry for the dogs' crudeness at times ^^; they do things differently than humans…

* * *

**Packmate**

Pakkun was aware that humans thought that pets and their owners shared similar traits, up to and including appearances. And he rarely felt there was any need to disagree, even when the relationship was one of shinobi and summons and nothing so innocuous as that of a hound and his master.

His connection with Kakashi was a good deal deeper than that.

They were both pretty laid-back individuals who did their duty as they saw fit with few complaints, and took healthy enjoyment in serenity and what companionship they could afford.

The only difference was that _he_ wouldn't be taking forever to mate with a female who put him in heat all the time.

But, humans did things differently than dogs did.

"Still no excuse for his behavior," the pug muttered to himself as he wandered (not paced, _wandered_) Kakashi's apartment. Kakashi's emotions were clear in the pheromones that lingered in the air. His. Hers. And the scent of antiseptic.

The brunet little pug could see it all in his mind's eye, the boy – Kakashi was still the mask-faced kid he'd first bound himself to in the dog's thoughts – flashing his infamous crescent eye smile at the woman as she handed him one of her specially packaged medic kits for his mission with a sternly mocking hint not to be silly and "lose the kit over a cliff again."

Pakkun knew the incident in question…_and _that Kakashi had used up all her emergency supplies to keep himself and Genma alive in Wave country during their S-rank mission. He'd returned, citing that he had "misplaced" her provisions, which Pakkun knew to be a blatant lie constructed so as not to worry her.

Considering her scent when the topic came up in conversation (because it came up frequently as a sardonic little inside joke between them), Pakkun was pretty certain she knew her little gift hadn't been wasted at all, but she was nonetheless not pleased that Kakashi had said nothing about what had almost left him at death's doorstep.

Well, best if Kakashi wasn't here anyway. The kid was too perceptive for his own good and would pick up on any plot on the pug's part if he were around.

Pakkun smirked. The boy had learned from the best, after all.

He made a last cursory circle of Kakashi's apartment, to make sure he and the rest of the pack weren't getting ahead of themselves…but no, the boy was _still_ just pining with no change in the relationship, honestly it was getting to the point where Pakkun was beginning to wonder just how oblivious the woman was when all Kakashi's pheromones were blatantly spelling out his feelings…and poofed out to the other realm where summons stayed to meet up with the other members of the pack.

They had a lot to discuss.

=*~*~*=

"Oi, Pakkun, so what's the news?"

The pug shook the last remnants of teleportation mist from his chocolate fur, and gave a dog's shrug. "I'll tell you after we round up the others, Urushi; it's easier to explain all at once than repeat it, and when the pack's together we'll get to a decision faster."

"So it's definitely about the rosy-headed one?" the white-furred dog asked as he did a little stretch and turned towards the fields and scrubland that abutted the side of the cavern the pack used as a summer den. "Good. The pup was beginning to annoy me with all this taking-his-time."

"Me too…" the pug muttered to himself as he headed in the opposite direction as his packmate in search of the rest of the master's summons.

In fact, if he thought about it, this lingering of Kakashi's was more than just the human act known as "taking his sweet time about it". The pup, that being another one of the pack's affectionate nicknames for their shinobi master, was acting like he wasn't going to claim the girl at all. And for an alpha male to act that way was…

The chocolate-furred summons shook his muzzle to dislodge the thought and clawed easily up a tree to find the other of Kakashi's smaller-sized ninken in the fork of a tall maple.

"Bisuke."

"Pakkun," the hooded-eyed canine yipped in greeting, tearing his gaze away from the shifting maple leaves to the dog who stood in as the alpha male during Kakashi's absence. Nostrils flared in the breeze, the fawn-colored dog scented the air, and grinned. "So it's time. Want me to grab some of the others?"

"Shiba and Akino. Urushi will probably run into Uhei and Guruko before you and I'm grabbing Bull myself."

"Got it," the other said with another of his fleeting, smug grins. "Can't wait to finally get started."

Pakkun merely answered his packmate with a dog-shrug and a short, "Me neither," before darting off through the trees to fetch the last of the pack.

"Bull! Oi!"

The black hound was massive and not at all difficult to locate as he rested in a large clearing. And, aside from Bisuke, he was the member of the pack Pakkun himself felt most comfortable with. After all, they'd had to get along from the very beginning when Pakkun had been ferried around on the larger canine's head. And since then it was Buru that Pakkun went to for serious conversation.

The mammoth head swung in the pug's direction, the rest of the body easily following. "Pakkun."

"Bull, it's time."

The hefty dog swung his head in a nod and stooped to let the smaller pug hop up to his usual perch between Bull's ears. Not a dog of many words, Bull was much more comfortable letting his actions do his talking for him. Pakkun had come to accept that, really dogs didn't have a great need for verbal communication most of the time, and so the two settled into an easy silence as Bull's long stride ate up the distance between the clearing and the pack's summer den.

=*~*~*=

"So what's up?" impatient Urushi asked as soon as the pack was together. "We're finally all here so spill; we already all know this has to do with the pup and the rosy-haired one."

"He's taking too much time," the sunglasses-wearing ninken, Akino, interjected with a sigh that hovered on the edge of a growl. "He's not getting any younger…"

"He's still a pup compared to the rest of us," Pakkun said, quickly coming to Kakashi's defense. "But," he added in a more reasonable tone that now tinted with concern, "he doesn't seem to have any intention of mating her."

The series of canine sounds following his statement probably equated to serious dissent in human.

Kakashi was the pack's alpha, and while he was the one to whom the pack had pledged their loyalty, a pack was not usually led by a solitary alpha male but rather by an alpha _pair_. And that being said, that Kakashi refused to pursue the female he wanted was more than enough to set the pack worrying.

"So what do we do?" levelheaded Uhei asked over the noise, bringing up a hind paw to scratch at the bandages around his neck in a show of nonchalance that brought out a chuckle even from hotheaded Urushi. "Kakashi can't just be left to his own devices. Is there a reason he doesn't wish to mate with her, Pakkun? Is she unsuitable to be pack?"

The pug dog-shrugged in response, "I don't think so," he reasoned, "but I'm biased."

"Yeah," Shiba laughed, "she _does_ share your shampoo after all."

"Anyway," Uhei continued, once the good-natured laughter had died down some, "Does Kakashi have a reason for taking his time mating the girl?"

"Something about an age gap," the chocolate-furred pug admitted. "And a former student-teacher relationship."

Bisuke snorted, his smug grin firmly in place. "Those sound like pathetic human excuses," he retorted with a shake of his dark ears. "Mating isn't about age or pack status, at least not for an alpha. I don't understand how he doesn't just take her if she puts him in heat all the time."

"Humans," Pakkun said, as if that explained everything.

And in a way, it did. They didn't think a dog would be so idiotic, and to them Kakashi was as good as a dog. He was pack, he was alpha, he shouldn't have been spending the last three years doing nothing but watch his alpha female, trailing pheromones like a big fat sign taped to his back.

"So we're going ahead with the plan like we agreed last time?" Guruko asked, pawing at the forehead protector tied around his head in his usual thought-filled manner.

"I say we do it," white-furred Urushi barked, gaining assent from Bisuke and Shiba with his statement.

"The alpha shouldn't just spend his time following and watching his female if he can have her," Akino agreed.

Pakkun glanced around at his fellow ninken as they sat within the cavernous confines of the pack's summer den, noting as each one gave his agreement to the plan they'd formulated several weeks ago at a similar meeting. "I guess it's decided then."

"Good," Bisuke said decisively, baring his fangs in a toothy, canine grin. "Other than you, Pakkun, the rest of us hardly get to see the girl."

The pug merely dog-shrugged as he scrolled over the girl's work schedule in his head. "She has a week-long break in three days…"

The pack turned their muzzles in surprise to Bull who gave a growling sigh. "Perfect. For an elite shinobi, Kakashi was taking too much time."

=*~*~*=

"Yo, Sakura."

"Hey, Pakkun," the strawberry-haired girl greeted the pug as she paused at the foot of her apartment building, keys in hand. "Did Kakashi-sensei send you on another errand while he was gone?"

"Not really," came the cryptic reply. After all, he wasn't here because Kakashi had summoned him to be. Though, Pakkun could remember at least three separate instances when he _had_ been called up to perform some trivial task for Sakura during a period when Kakashi had been undertaking a seriously difficult mission.

The pug had been rather averse to leaving his master at such times, even if the silver-haired shinobi was in the care of the rest of the pack, but he could understand the motives behind the actions. Underneath the underneath, if he was to take a page from Kakashi's book…the one about a shinobi's nindo, not the alpha's orange-covered mating manual.

A summon would know of his master's death instantaneously with the severing of the bonds that ran between the ninken and the jounin, and Pakkun knew Kakashi usually asked him to visit Sakura during Kakashi's harder S-ranks so that she might hear of his passing from a friend as opposed to much later. It was his way of preparing for the worst.

Kakashi didn't want her forever waiting for him with dwindling hope and unable to move on, something he and the pack knew she would do because _that was the kind of person she was_. She was compassionate in spite of her strength, and loved deeply and well. It was the trait about Sakura that Pakkun liked best; a little bit of proof that, as the alpha female, she would care for the pack as pack, not just as pets. Because she was the type to care, and understand.

"So if it's not an errand," Sakura said, interrupting the dog's musings, "what brings you here?"

"General concern," Pakkun replied as, with a trembling rumble underfoot, the rest of the ninken pack burst from the ground and latched onto the rose-haired kunoichi.

He had to give her credit for neither screaming nor fighting them. She merely flooded chakra through her body to stay balanced in spite of Bull's weight draped across her shoulders, various pack members gripping her limbs as gently as they could while still having purchase.

It was a much less aggressive hold than the one they'd used on the Mist shinobi, Zabuza, years ago.

"Mind explaining this, Pakkun?" the viridian-eyed 22-year-old asked, her voice taking on a distinctly irritated edge; the pug admired the show of strength she was putting on for them though the scent of her fear was slowly beginning to blossom from her. "I'm pretty sure Kakashi-sensei isn't going to appear to chidori me through the chest so I don't see why I need all your packmates holding me down right now."

"Yeah, but this is really the only way we know how to…" the pug supplied as he scampered around the back to take two light leaps to the crown of Buru's head.

"How to what?" Sakura asked, her fear spiking as the scent washed the pack's eight different noses.

"How to get you to where we live."

And without giving her fear another chance to shoot up and cloy the air with her pheromones, Pakkun barked the signal and the dogs dove back down, disappearing through the ground in front of her apartment building with a puff of grayish smoke, and taking her with them.

=*~*~*=

"Ow!"

The ninken released her immediately as a chakra filled hand came up to soothe away the painful lump that was already beginning to form on the top of her head. Reentry into the summons realm was apparently a little rougher on humans than dogs, and they waited patiently while she worked away the headache that came with it.

"Mou, Pakkun, what the…" her words died on her lips as her emerald eyes widened at the sight of where she was. Or rather, where she wasn't. "I'm not in Konoha anymore, am I."

The mouth of the large cavern sided by fields and forests in either direction were definitely not any part of the village she'd ever been to.

"No, this is the summons realm," the hooded-eyed dog who'd been hanging on to Sakura's right sandal said matter-of-factly as she sat down hard. "Nice to see you again, Sakura."

"Hello again, Bisuke," she greeted absentmindedly, scratching the dog on his head, just above the kanji that read 'shinobi'. But it didn't take long for her to process this new information, and her jade eyes narrowed as their gaze swung from one ninken to the other to fix finally on the one she knew best.

"Pakkun…care to tell me why I'm here in the summons realm?" she asked, radiating irritation and dominance, and a distinct aura of I'd-better-be-told-what's-going-on-right-now-or-_someone's_-going-to-regret-it.

"Well, you see…"

"We want to see if you're worthy to be our alpha," Urushi interrupted, too caught up in Sakura's commanding air to stay silent.

And all hell broke loose.

=*~*~*=

"Wait, wait, I don't get it," Sakura said a little while later, after her initial, "_WHAT?!_" had rocked the very foundation of the pack's summer den. "Kakashi-sensei's the alpha of your…pack. Isn't he? I can't be the alpha in his place unless…" the scent of her fear, sudden and immediate, filled the cavernous space but her voice continued strong and even when she spoke, "has something happened to Kakashi-sensei?"

"No, no, the kid's fine," Uhei reassured her quickly with a shake of his bandages. "He hasn't gone and 'lost your medkit over a cliff' like last time."

"Honestly, Kakashi-sensei can be so dense sometimes…how stupid did he think I was?" she huffed as she crossed her arms over her chest. "I could feel my chakra salve all over him!"

Bull nudged her from behind in a gently reproving gesture. "Don't be too hasty, pink," he told her. "All males are a little foolish when it comes to their mate."

"…"

Her scent wafted over them and Pakkun suppressed the urge to slap a paw over his half-lidded eyes. This was _not_ going well…

"His _mate?!_" she yelped incredulously as she shot to her feet. "You…Bull, that's…no, no, that can't be…there's…"

They merely watched her, gauging her reaction with keen eyes, and she realized that no matter what she said, they could smell her emotions and there was no use arguing. They could probably scent her attraction to her sensei even now.

She sat back down with a somewhat unhappy finality and buried her face in Bisuke's light-brown fur, the summons yipping sympathetically as she took several deep, calming breaths.

"Okay," she said, straightening with a small, uncertain smile. "I'll bite. Say that I…I'm Kakashi-sensei's mate. What does that mean for me?"

"I guess for now that makes you part of the pack, at least while you're here," Uhei told her once again scratching at his bandages.

"Pack."

Various canine heads nodded.

"Okay…so I'm pack. Now what?"

The excitement that erupted between the hounds was palpable as Akino spoke up, his sunglasses gleaming. "Now, we hunt."

"H-hunt? Here??" But the strange notion of hunting with the other members of Kakashi's pack in the summons realm was a better than the alternative she'd have faced back at the village, out bar-hopping with her best friend. And it wasn't like she could get back to Konoha without their help anyway.

Her uncertain smile deepened into a more confident grin. "I'm game."

=*~*~*=

"Do you guys do this with Kakashi-sensei often?" Sakura asked, laughing with exhilaration as she ran on chakra-enhanced feet through the tree branches with the smaller pack members. The larger ones were below them on the forest ground, keeping stride. They all vibrated with excitement as they ran, noses scenting the air but without the urgency of a lean pack. Kakashi kept them decently fed; the pack was hunting more as a social thing, and a tacit way to gauge the girl's abilities.

She was vaguely aware of it, could feel it in the little glances they threw at her, and didn't care. She was having too much fun.

"Kinda often," Bisuke laughed, his short tan fur ruffled in the wind as they ran. "Pup hardly has time though."

Sakura nodded with a wry little grimace. "He's pretty busy with missions." She tossed her head to get a few strands of rose-hued hair out of her eyes. "I can understand that."

"Mm," Pakkun agreed as he picked up the pace.

Sakura and the hood-eyed canine exchanged a small grin and matched the older dog's turn of speed; leaving the heavier set six dogs several feet behind.

"So we scout ahead?" Sakura asked as they forged deeper into the forest and the pug ninken slowed to accommodate for their rougher terrain.

"Essentially," he told her as they weaved in and out of the branches. "When we reach the hunting grounds, we'll slow down because stealth is more important than speed at that point, but until then it's our job to search out prey. When we find it, we stay silent and lead the rest of the pack back to our find."

Sakura scanned the ground, viridian eyes sharpening at telltale signs of recent disturbance. "Pakkun…"

The pug was grinning back at her. "Good job, we didn't know if you'd catch that without a ninken's nose."

Her response was a quick quirk of her lips and a lighter, quieter step.

The two summons nodded their approval and pressed on in silence until the quiet rustle of leaves alerted them of something lumbering through the undergrowth.

The dark, bristly hide was unmistakable.

Boar.

=*~*~*=

"Hey, Kakashi-sensei!"

"Yo. Naruto. Kiba-kun," the silver-haired jounin greeted the two younger shinobi with a little wave.

"Kakashi-sensei, have you seen Sakura-chan at all today?" Naruto asked. "I was planning on asking her to come to sparring practice with me, Sai, and Sasuke-teme because she's on break this week, but I can't find her."

"Ano, I haven't been in the village for the last few days, Naruto."

"Ah right," the blond said, rubbing the whisker marks on his cheeks with a little hint of embarrassment. "Well no one seems to have any idea where she is. Even Akamaru's having trouble."

"Everywhere we've been the trail's been cold several hours," Kiba explained. "The only place that wasn't was right in front of her apartment building, but we lost the scent because there were too many dogs right there…" the Inuzuka's voice faded away as Akamaru dug his nose into the small of the young man's back. Not that it was necessary. The wary fear-scent rolling off Kakashi was strong enough for even his nose to pick up.

"Maa, maa, I'm sure it's not a big deal," the older jounin said cheerily. "I'll keep an eye out for her, Naruto." And with a wave, he made his departure.

"Well, we should get back to looking too, Kiba."

The Inuzuka shook his head. "I don't think that'll be too necessary." He made a face at Naruto's quizzical glance. "Let me tell you about some ninken pack-lore that's been passed down through my family about alpha pairs…"

=*~*~*=

It was all business now; a hunt was still a hunt in the summons realm and the pack was of a single mind.

Prey.

Bull circled to the one side cutting off the boar's escape route in that direction as Shiba and Urushi growled menacingly as they appeared at its other side, snapping at its feet as their pale and tan fur bristled with their snarls. Bisuke, Pakkun, and Sakura hopped down to lower branches, lingering above their target as the others backed the creature into a clearing.

The wild pig tossed its massive head as it scented the wind to pinpoint how many of them were in the pack, crimson eyes rolling wide at the overwhelming smell of dog in the air.

Urushi growled low in his throat, a kick to the ribs grazing his side as he leaped back with a yip and a snap of his jaws.

From above, Bisuke darted down, latching onto the boar's ear to hang on as his paws scrabbled at the animal's face for purchase until he was dislodged with a fierce toss of the pig's head.

The tan dog spat bristles with a snort. "Close in?" The words were more for Sakura's benefit than anything because the others could _scent_ the command from Pakkun but she couldn't, and then he, too, darted back to hound the boar's hooves.

For a second, Sakura felt a flutter of doubt. She had only one kunai on her, the one she _always_ kept on her regardless of whether or not she thought there would be any need of one, and she couldn't just waste it on a throw. She'd have to make her contribution to the battle at close range with a maddened boar. But this was a hunt and for the moment she was pack. For the moment they were her team.

The boar flicked its head from side to side, eyes rolling with terror as it scented, and saw, the hounds closing in. But one direction smelled only of sweat and a faint touch of flowers…

He lunged for the opening.

Her pulse raced in her veins, hand tightening around the hilt of her kunai as she channeled chakra to her arms. The force of the collision, tusk against blade, rocked her back a pace. She gritted her teeth.

"Get back!"

Sakura's free fist slammed into the ground, chakra shattering the forest floor under the animal as she leapt free of the blast radius.

The boar dropped into the crater; the pack was on it instantly.

It was over before she had time to catch her breath.

"Good job, Sakura," bandaged Uhei congratulated her, shaking droplets of blood from his muzzle. "A clean kill." He glanced over his shoulder at the carcass. "You want some?"

She didn't really, and definitely not raw, but maybe they'd let her cook it. There was no telling how long she'd be stuck in the summons realm, and they were her only ticket back.

"Am I allowed to cook it?"

The tan-furred hound laughed throatily, licking his chops. "Of course. You're pack, but you're not a dog. We wouldn't expect you to eat like one; we don't even expect Kakashi to do that." He flicked a grin at the rose-haired 22-year-old. "Though we tried to talk him into it once when he was a lot younger."

With a laugh and an answering grin, Sakura leapt into the crater to help butcher the kill.

=*~*~*=

"So you're telling me…"

The brunet nodded. "That's probably where Sakura is right now."

"And Kakashi-sensei…"

"Yup."

"That…was a little unexpected," Naruto said at last, propping his chin on the palm of a hand, his brows furrowed with thought. "But a lot of things make sense now…"

"I don't doubt it," Kiba replied, leaning back against Akamaru's considerable bulk. "The claiming scent was all over him." He glanced back over at his blond friend with a raised eyebrow. "You seem to be taking this pretty calmly."

Naruto shrugged. "I love Sakura-chan like a sister, and I trust her; it's her choice. If she does choose him and he hurts her, he's a dead man."

The Inuzuka grinned, tapping fists with the other jounin. "Well said."

=*~*~*=

"What was Kakashi-sensei like as a kid?" Sakura asked. She was curled up against Bull's warmth under the open sky in front of the summer den, draped in dogs. They made a contented pile, full of boar and warm under the starlit sky. "I mean, when he first made the contract with you guys."

An appreciative chuckle ran through the pack.

"He was a determined brat," Pakkun told her. "Always trying to improve…for others."

"He was too serious at first; we almost did get him to eat his first kill raw," Uhei said, muzzle tickling Sakura's stomach as he spoke with his head pillowed on her hip. "But over time…"

"Over time he's become a chronically tardy, reading-porn-in-public, lackadaisical shinobi," the rose-haired girl scoffed sleepily, with no heat in her words. "I think he went and overcompensated for his past."

They snickered for a while until their mirth died down and silence returned.

"I…I had fun today," Sakura murmured into Bull's dark fur, blushing with embarrassment at how inadequately her words described the bizarre events of the day.

Bisuke, curled up by her arm, yawned, rolling onto his back. "Good. You're pack now, you know."

"B-but I thought…it was just…just for today…"

She flushed as dark-crested Shiba fixed her with a look. "Okay, I didn't…but it's still so hard to…"

"Believe?" Guruko asked, scratching at his forehead protector. "You wouldn't say that if you had a ninken's nose. You should see him from our perspective. You walk by his apartment and he's suddenly in heat."

"Guruko!"

"Just like you right now."

"Shut _up_," the 22-year-old ground out, face buried in Bull's fur again as the other pack members laughed. "This is so embarrassing…"

"Not to a dog," the matter-of-fact canine replied. "It's just natural. It'd be weirder if you didn't."

Silence descended again as the pack let Sakura digest the new information, shifting uncomfortably against them until, "Kakashi-sensei goes into heat around me?"

"All the time," Akino assured her with a mock long-suffering sigh. "We kidnapped you today because we decided he was taking forever about it and it was beginning to get on our nerves. I mean, you can say he was being cautious about how invested in the relationship he'd be, but if he's been feeling the same way for three years without any change, you'd think he'd be willing to accept the point."

"Three _years?!_"

"Give or take a few months."

"And he didn't think to, oh, I don't know, tell me about it?"

Pakkun shifted in his position on Bull's back by her head. "He has always felt there were barriers between the two of you; you were his student, he's fourteen years older than you, those sorts of things."

"But…" Sakura let brow crease into a frown. "I don't care about that."

"Then maybe you should call him just Kakashi," Bull suggested seriously, startling the rose-haired. "He might have been your teacher once, but he isn't any more." He shifted into a more comfortable position as the girl lying against his back fell into stunned silence.

"You're his mate. In that sense, the both of you need to acknowledge each other as equals, and you calling him sensei doesn't help that," he added.

"S-so…I should call him…Kakashi…" The name rolled off her lips easily, making them feel strangely warm. Her chest constricted as her pulse sped up, just a little, as it always did when she thought about him.

"You're taking this all a lot better than I thought," Pakkun commented as she was drifting off to sleep.

Sakura shrugged, her lips quirking into a wry grin. "I came to terms with my feelings for him a long time ago. Sometimes I feel like my entire life has been coming to terms with various things related to my emotions."

"That doesn't bother you?"

The emerald-eyed kunoichi grinned. "Not any more."

The summons chuckled softly. "Good. We take you back tomorrow morning."

=*~*~*=

It was early; much earlier than he wanted to be awake, with the light of dawn barely creeping over the horizon. But, after a lengthy search of the outskirts of Konoha for Sakura and a much shorter one late in the evening for his ninken pack, Kakashi had an uneasy feeling about his former student's whereabouts.

So he was going to scout the last place anyone could remember her being in the early dawn. At least that way, if his assumptions turned out to be correct, he would have a head start running off to avoid the conflict that'd erupt as soon as Sakura returned to the village.

"For your sakes, I hope not," he muttered, his summons in mind as he darted from rooftop to rooftop. "I _really_ hope not." If he killed them, it'd take forever training new summons.

He turned the corner to Sakura's apartment and froze, his worst fears confirmed.

Eight craters pockmarked the dirt outside the building front.

_'They took her…'_

But even as the thought was crossing his mind, a rumble shook the earth underfoot, nine figures bursting from the ground in a large cloud of teleportation mist.

"Ow," a familiar voice complained. "Still hurts on the return trip…"

"Sakura!"

She whirled around, her jade eyes going wide. Her hair was mussed from a night slept out of doors, grass stains smudging her day-old outfit. His ninken surrounded her, comfortable and relaxed as they relished the early morning sunlight. Rose-blush cheeks darkened further as her eyes met his.

She was beautiful.

"Kakashi…"

And with his name from her lips, without titles or honorifics, he _knew_.

It took two strides towards her for the rose-haired girl to meet him halfway, his hands gentle against pink-tinged cheeks as her fingers pulled down his mask and then tangled in his silver hair.

His mate. His woman. His heart. There was nothing more perfect than the feel of her lips against his for the first time, and he deepened the kiss instinctively as if he couldn't possibly get enough of her.

He was breathless when they finally broke apart.

"How…how did you know?"

She flashed him an impish grin made all the more adorable by the flush that painted her cheeks. "The pack kidnapped me."

The copy nin raised an eyebrow, looking over her shoulder at his summons. "Really."

"We approve of Haruno Sakura as our alpha female," Pakkun said blandly, though his eyes were anything but.

"So hurry up and get on with it," Shiba added with a toothy grin.

"They're pack, you know," Sakura murmured into his ear teasingly, sending a pleasant shiver down his spine. "They're of one mind so I don't think we've got a chance against them."

"Who says I want to go against them?" he chuckled, drawing his mate closer. "I'm pack too; same mind as them." And with a grin that took Sakura's breath away, he leaned down and captured her lips again.

THE END

* * *

Yeah, I know I don't usually put THE ENDs at the end of my stories, but that's usually because there's possibility for it to become a chapter fic or it really isn't done yet or something. Packmate is definitely finished here though I may think of writing a sequel eventually. I definitely loved writing about all the dogs and thinking up unique personalities for all of them XD

I hope you guys enjoyed reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it, and if you can show it love and fave the story, please leave me a review ^^ the muse thrives on them (and cookies...but I really should be cutting back her sugar intake...she keeps going on sugar highs and shooting plot bunnies at me like no tomorrow)

Yay for Kakashi's ninken! Review!


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